I am starting to get a lot of comments from people in parking lots about my car. I had two people at Trader Joe's stop me this morning. One was in a Lexus. He really liked the color (tideland). Another woman stopped me and asked me what the car was. She said she had been seeing them a lot and really liked how it looked. She was in the market for a new car and wondered about the Prius. I told her she was going to have to wait quite a bit before she got one if she ordered one now. It is kind of fun to have a car that other people notice and want to know about. I'm sure all of you with cars are having the same experience. Jeff
Just yesterday a man came over to me in a parking lot and signalled to open the window. He said he had heard about them and was quite impressed. I also warned him about the wait. I have just put on my new HY TEK CR license plates which may cause even more attention. chuck
I get similar responses at stoplights or in the parking lot - even here in relatively "kept to ourselves" SoCal. I too warn about the wait. I also get a mix of people who say they've ordered theirs and can't wait to get it, ask how I like mine, etc. Of course, I wish them luck w/ the wait as it can be grueling. -Rick
Hi All, Almost every time I'm out in my Prius someone askes me about it or waves or gives a thumbs up. There was one time on the highway while crusing at about 65MPH when a man in an older model of the Corolla pulled up beside me, rolled down his window, gave me two thumbs up, and then started to yell something out his window that I couldn't quite make out. I smiled, nodded and waived. I'm glad he ended up getting off at the next off-ramp because he was paying too much attention to me and not enough to the road (drifting out of his lane). Some people are really exvited about this car I guess. ~Andrew
I've had almost the opposite response/experience. I've honked at passing Prii and waved, and gotten no response. Makes me feel like the village idiot seeing a car for the first time. Maybe the Prius isn't so rare in Seattle as to generate the surprise response other folks around the country are getting. I see a LOT of classic Prii, and expect to see more 04's as the cars start coming in.
On the way home today, I was doing 45 in a 45 zone when a black souped up hot-rod Honda blasted past me on the left. The driver zoomed ahead about 50 feet in front of me, then quickly slowed down and pulled even with me. The driver beeped his horn and I looked over to see a kid (maybe 18 or 19?) grinning from ear to ear and holding up a large sign on a small stick. The professionally printed sign said in big letters "Cool Car!" Kind of like this :stupid: but with the Cool Car message. He must carry it around with him looking for cars worthy of his sign. I acknowledged his compliment with a thumbs up and a smile and then he gunned it and disappeared over the next hill. It certainly has been a long time since a kid that age though anything I was driving was cool. Come to think of it, no one that age has ever said that to me, even when I was that age (course I was driving an old 1966 Ford Galaxy 500 back then.) Jim 04 Silver BC
In my almost-90-days of ownership the most common question is "What is that?", to which I usually reply "Its a car!" and then we talk... :mrgreen: Peace
I had my first encounter just tonight with someone I did not know. He thought it was the Honda Civic so I put him in the driver seat as I explained otherwise. He said his wife was really interested in the Honda, but he really liked the exterior form and the interior space of (my) Prius. Then I turned on the display that showed my current MPG of 54.6 and he started to giggle. He left saying he was going to show a Prius to his wife and I wished him luck.
Well, my 2004 isn't attracting any attention, here in the suburbs of Chicago. I'm vastly disappointed (in the response, not in the car). I got more parking lot comments for my 2002 Prius. I even have license plate frames that read "Hybrid Gas-Electric. Never Needs Plugging In" and window stickers with the interdiction symbol over an electric plug. Am I being too subtle? The car is RED, for heaven's sake. Who could miss it? Barbara
Great story. Oh, BTW, before I got my 2004 I saw one on the street and was looking inside, etc... before I realized the passenger seat was occupied. Judging by the look on her face, she must have thought I was some crazy stalker, until I pointed out my 2001 Prius across the street.
The ones I've seen around Northern Virginia are the same - though, they must not be anyone from the chat boards here because I think it's safe to say all of us here are enthusiasts. Incidentally, a few episodes on Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO, they discussed how Prius people are 'different people'. The main character, Larry David, has driven an older model Prius for the past few years in the show, and in the recent episode, he was complaining to his friend that when he honked and waived at another Prius, he got no reaction. At the end of the show, when a dog is chasing him down the street, a Prius passes him, and he yells, "Hey, a Prius!" and waves to it, running in the opposite direction. Anyway, just thought I'd share. -m.
Yeah, I've seen him wave at me, but come on, it's Larry David. How's he gonna have a show if we don't keep him neurotic? <kidding!> My husband and I were over by the Fashion Square mall a few weekends ago stuck in some awful traffic (and not caring) and saw a white Prius creeping along in the other direction. It was full of younger women and they all pointed and waved at us. My husband has perfected the "royal wave" and he obliged. They laughed, we laughed. We both went in our respective directions. Only once has someone stopped me in a parking lot, and that was at Zuma Beach by some rock-climbers when I'd only had the car for a few weeks. They were very interested in it.
I went to the dentist today. We had talked about me getting the Prius for almost a year, so she was looking forward to seeing it when I finally got it. She liked it so much I took her for a drive and is thinking about trying to get one for herself. Not every day you take your dentist for a ride in your new car. Jeff
The news of $2.70 a gallon gas around here by summer is getting very real attention. In the past, I've gotten very little attention towards my Prius. Since my model is now the "old" model, I never thought anything of it. Well, three times now in two days, I've been stopped and asked about it. Of course, I tell them just how happy I am with the car. Then I tell them of the waiting list for the '04's.
